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In July the Tech Open Air (TOA) will bring together the leading minds of theinternational startup and tech scene for the eighth time at the historic Funkhaus. Under the motto of future-proofing attendees, the unique festival-meets-conference format braids together unexpected connections between some of the most varied disciplines, with speakers hailing from diverse areas of expertise in technology, music, art, and science.

Between July 2-5, more than 150 speakers, 120 satellite events, and 20,000 participants (8,000 at the Funkhaus) are expected to attend. The event stretches across the entire Berlin with satellite events held by national and international companies, startups, scientific institutions, and more on the first and fourth day of the festival, as well as on the evenings of the July 4 and 4. The former broadcasting halls of the Funkhaus will host panels, keynotes, knowshops, and various matchmaking formats that are ideal for networking. The program further includes a wide variety of art and music installations, as well as live acts during the day.

The program pillar “Emotional Innovation” will also feature numerous physical workshops, experiments and mindfulness performances. Companies and founders additionally have the opportunity to present their innovative projects at the Haus of Tech, covering an area of 4.000m², with startups exhibiting their ideas and products in the Startup Alley.Five pillars and five stages for exceptional speakers The Tech Open Air is the opportunity to engage with thought leaders that are ahead of thepack when it comes to the future of work, technology, and modern life. The festival focuses on the five verticals New Communities, Pioneering Business, Zukunftsmusik & Kunst, Deep Tech and Emotional Innovation.Confirmed national and international highlight speakers from these verticals include: Claire Hughes Johnson, COO of the online payment service Stripe; Bruce Linton, Founder & CEO of Canopy Growth, the first cannabis company in North America to be publicly traded, and to date has received more than $6 billion in capital ; Niklas Östberg, Founder & CEO of Delivery Hero; Cybersecurity expert Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk, CTO, Cloud and AI Security Division at Microsoft; Danny Lange, VP of Artificial Intelligence at Unity Technologies, whose technologies are used to create half of the world’s games; and Amber Vez Box, founder and president of rewardStyle, where the monetisation of brands in the digital space is driven by a network of more than 30.000 influencers.

“Accelerated developments in technology, in the way we work, and in modern life, in general, threaten to catch us in a spin-cycle and spit us out again without us having much say. TOA’s approach is different: We make you future-proof by providing a stage for visionaries to share their insights. That is why this year, in the age of fake news, we are focusing on buildingonline and offline communities,” said TOA founder Niko Woischnik.

“We are also looking at what is behind the buzzword of “disruption” from a different angle: for instance, Bruce Linton of Canopy Growth is at the head of a publicly traded cannabis company. Who would have thought?”

Niko Woischnik, TOA founder

“We also look into deep tech and what it’s doing to revolutionise the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk is doing at Microsoft, and at how the role of mindfulness and taking care of the human has become imperative. With global editions in New York, at SXSW in Austin, and in Mexico City we have become even more international,and this is following us home to Berlin where the festival welcomes attendees and speakers from across the world.”